A new center seeks to preserve 3,000 endangered species

The California condor, the Maryland darter, the Florida panther and other animals struggling to survive are not the only endangered species. Largely because of man's encroachment, many, perhaps dozens of American plant species are disappearing each year. Indeed, botanists estimate that some 3,000 of the 22,000 species of higher plants native to the U.S. may be facing extinction. Around the world, as many as 40,000 plant species are in trouble.

Now help is on the way, at least for America's vegetation, in the form of the Center for Plant Conservation, which has its headquarters at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. With seed...